Weekly News Bulletin

Month: March 2018

Did your ancestor serve in WW1 or WW2?

Uttoxeter Town Council is looking for a student who is a descendant or relative of a serviceman named on the town’s War Memorial. We’d like to invite them to read a poem at the dedication service for the new plaques being placed on the memorial. This takes place on April 25th in the morning. If you think you can help us with this please let Mrs Rudge know as soon as possible.

Alison Trenery, Uttoxeter Mayor

Assemblies w/b 16th April are to be led by Mrs Rudge

Thought for the WeekA positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it annoys enough people to make it worth.

Dates for your diary

16/4/2018 School Reopens

Headteacher blog:

Congratulations to the drama team, and House Champions Torrance, for a fantastic House Drama competition which brought our school term to a wonderful conclusion today.

We wish everyone a lovely Easter.

Easter is now upon us, I can imagine that this may be a time when the realisation of how close the exams are has hit home. This may help focus some but it may also worry others. We recommend that all students create a revision timetable for the two weeks so that they can utilise their timetable effectively. It is not a time to ignore the revision that is required but it is a time for them to spend time with family and friends. A balance is required and a revision timetable will help with this. Looking at past papers and mark schemes is also going to be beneficial, revisiting old exams completed in lessons or mocks and re-visiting their Next Steps will add benefit to their revision, learning to not make the same mistakes is a good life lesson.

Our Sixth Formers have been working hard both in and out of lesson.

The winner of the Sixth Form Easter Egg Competition goes to Rachel Clemett.

I am amazed by the detail and imagination, which was shown in the creation of this scene. Well done Rachel.

Tash Young has made over £80 in her chocolate hamper raffle to raise money for our Sixth Form charity – Dougie Mac. Mrs Walton was one of the lucky winners.

As part of our commitment to our students within the Sixth Form Mrs Dodd has organised a two weekly enrichment session for all Year 12 – Week 2 Tuesday Period 2. This week the focus was on personal statements which will be needed for apprenticeship, university and job applications.

Mr Robinson-White also has a wealth of Personal Statement information that we will ask him to share with them and you via INSIGHT.

We can confirm that our next Enrichment Session is Tuesday the 24th of April P2.

For those students that applied for the role of Senior Prefect: Interviews have been completed and discussions have been had between the Sixth Form Team. Successful applicants will receive a letter over Easter.

In my years of teaching I have never seen such a powerful assembly. This was not a teacher led assembly or an outside speaker, this was led by four of our Year 12 students who wanted to share information on the Holocaust that they had learnt whilst on an education visit to Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland. Rachel Clemett, Jess Poole, Adam Burrows and Lydia Grocott were able to visit Auschwitz with the Holocaust Educational Trust and as part of this visit they have to hold an event where they share their journey with others. All students at TAHS have been able to watch this assembly and soon they are going to be delivering it to Middle School students as well. The images that they chose to show made us all question the morality of the Nazis as they willing sent so many to the gas chambers, it made us question the humanity of the Nazis as they willing sent so many to live in the ghetto. None of the images shown were ‘disturbing’ as HET teaches us that we don’t always need to show these brutal photographs to allow people to see the barbarity of what happened. HET’s purpose is to educate as many as they can to see what can happen when society turns its back on humanity and compassion is lost.

At the start of the assembly Rachel sang a fitting song in Hebrew, this was chilling as it made many of us think about those exterminated in all the camps within Nazi controlled countries. They also had a visual representation of grains of rice. Each grain of rice on the stage represented one person who died in this cruel way. 192 bags of rice were on the stage, Tesco donated each of these bags and they will now be donated to a local food bank.

‘In order for the Human Race to progress as a civilised society one must understand and learn from history. It is with utter distress that even in today’s world comparable atrocities are happening such as may Rohingya being forced into Ghetto-like camps alongside ongoing violence and persecution, causing hundreds of thousands to flee to flee to neighbouring countries, such as Bangladesh, either by land or boat’.

‘As we walked around Auschwitz 1 and 2 the temperatures were unbearable even with many layers. We were witness to mountains of hair, shoes, glasses, prosthetic legs and what seemed like miles of prisoner photographs. We learnt about the experimentation of twins, the brutal conditions, sterilisation, and starvation’.

The Holocaust Educational Trust in a valuable resource to all schools and teachers and we are grateful for all that they do in educating the next generation so that the legacy of remembering this atrocity can continue.

GCSE + NEXT ROUND 16th April – 4th May.

The next round of GCSE+ starts the first Monday of term. Year 11 pupils will be revising and gaining exam techniques with specialist teachers for 20 minutes each morning.

Easter Revision

EXAMS

Changes to the marking of exam coursework/controlled assessment in accordance with JCQ regulations, will be found on the school website (Policies) from Easter.

News from PE

CUP MAGIC!

On Thursday Alleynes U16 football team travelled to Blythe Bridge in the 1/4 final of the Sentinel cup. Our opponents were heavily fancied and the current cup holders containing a number of last years side. Preparations were disrupted by a number of unavailable players due to injury and illness. There was drama before we left as Alex Brain only just printed his coursework in time to be allowed to play, motivational speaker Jay Hughes Ratcliffe nearly missed the bus as he lost his lucky tie, year 10 star Frankie Bussell was drafted in and had to have his kit delivered and Captain Archie Whitehead was passed fit from suspected glandular fever with just minutes to spare. Once there selection was again disrupted as Alex had forgotten his inhaler. Frankie who had only been included in the squad at the last minute was now thrust into the starting line up. Alleynes shocked their opponents by coming up with a new formation of 3-4-3 and began the brighter with some good early chances. We took a deserved lead as Kieran Coates smashed the ball in from close range. As both teams began to tire on the heavy pitch Alleyne’s introduced the pace of Alfie Bednall who ran with the ball from the half way line and dribbled past the defence to squeeze the ball in the near post. With a 2 nil lead at half time Alleynes were in control but knew their opponents would come hard. Alleynes game plan was perfectly carried out with Blythe being restricted to just 1 shot on goal. The Blythe keeper kept them in the game with some great saves including a penalty. Harry Johnson scored a great solo goal to seal the result. Alleynes maintained their discipline brilliantly as the Blythe players lost their heads. The whole squad played to their maximum with Kyle Young reading play well in goal. The back 3 of Brad Cope, Rob Minshall and Owen Gregory strangled the opposition, Out wide Harry Broome provided pace and width Matthew Wallis provided excellent service into the box. In midfield Jay Hughes Ratcliffe and Frankie Bussell controlled the tempo of the game and showed excellent positional skills. The front 3 of Archie Whitehead, Harry Johnson and Kieran Coates worked tirelessly and were a constant threat. As the game wore on Alex Brain shored things up at the back and Alfie Bednall provided good energy. The boys can now have a restful Easter (while revising) before the semi finals in April.

Trampolining

The first round of the trampolining competitions were held on Wednesday evening at Paulet High School. We took 14 students to make up 2 beginners team and 1 intermediate team. All girls have been attending the after school practices, with some showing real determination and resilience in trying to learn the new skills needed for the routines. In the beginners competition we came 2nd and 3rd in the team event. The second placed team consisted of Jenna Timmis, Rachel Agnew, Evie Sidwell and Megan Gray and the third placed team consisted of Rosie Howe, BekahElkin, Eboney Robertson, Abbie Hulbert and Chloe Yates. Within the beginners competition individual awards were also given out with Megan Gray getting 2nd place and Chloe Yates getting 3rd. In the intermediate competition the team came 1st and was made up of Caitlin Emery, Katie Gilbert, Holly Irvin, Lucy Carr and Frankie Tooth. The individual awards for the intermediate competition were won by Lucy Carr, 1st, and Frankie Tooth 3rd. Well done to all those that competed and special mention to Rachel Agnew who has worked so hard throughout Year 9 and 10, she had never been on a trampoline in Year 9 and has now improved so much she made it to the competition.

Science News

This week’s Science Students of the Week selected by Mrs Hughes are:

Year 9

Harriet Bebbington and Kyle Elcock for their leaflets on the greenhouse effect.

Year 10

Lucy Rogers and Sas Jaenprakhon for effort and commitment in chemistry.

Year 11

Laura Simister and Elliot Jones for their commitment and effort in chemistry.

This week’s Environmental Land Bases Science Students of the Week selected by Mr Gilson are:

Gemma Tomlinson and Jemma Thornett for completing their coursework to a high standard.

This week’s Animal Care Students of the Week also selected by Mr Gilson are:

Tom Clayton and Morgan Perry for working hard on their BTEC assignments.

Well done!

History Easter Egg Competition

The winner of the Easter Egg competition was Amberleigh Hackwood-Williams from 11T1 with her creation. Martin Luther-King.

Respect Programme

The themes for the Summer term now moves onto some current challenges that young people are faced with day-in, day-out. It is vital that if you have any concerns about the material that can be of a sensitive nature, that you contact your child’s Head of House or Form Tutor to discuss any of these issues. Year 9 will be studying Sex and Relationships, looking into:

Pornography

Young People, The Media and Sexual Identities

Sex and Social Media

Sexual Bullying

Year 10 will be studying Depression, looking into:

The Concept of Depression

The Symptoms of Depression

Supporting Behaviour

Information Available on Depression

Year 11 will be completing GCSE+ dor the first three weeks back and have now come to an end of their Respect Programme at Thomas Alleyne’s High School. They will still be discussing current affairs in their tutor period when they return, but they focus will primarily be on revision for their GCSE examinations.

Mr Hawthorne

Careers

Don’t forget to check out the new careers page on tahsroundup.wordpress.com

Links

Did your ancestor serve in WW1 or WW2?

Uttoxeter Town Council is looking for a student who is a descendant or relative of a serviceman named on the town’s War Memorial. We’d like to invite them to read a poem at the dedication service for the new plaques being placed on the memorial. This takes place on April 25th in the morning. If you think you can help us with this please let Mrs Rudge know as soon as possible.

Alison Trenery, Uttoxeter Mayor

Tuesday is a whole Y11 assembly led by the National Citizen Service (NCS). This will give students a further opportunity to sign up for the tremendous opportunity offered this summer by NCS

Due to the House Drama rehearsals and performances there are no assemblies on Wednesday or Thursday

Thought for the Week

May the message of hope that Easter brings, give us support in times of need. May the Easter message of loving sacrifice tead us to love others without counting the cost to ourselves

Dates for your diary

29/3/2018 End of Term

16/4/2018 School Reopens

Headteacher blog:

The House assemblies this week were compelling.

It is a testament to our sixth form students, who led the assemblies, that they were successful in compassionately and creatively reminding us of the importance of learning from the actions of the past. I would like to thank them for such a thought provoking piece. They are so committed to sharing their message that they will be visiting our middle schools in the coming weeks.

I also had the pleasure of seeing over 50 students take part in a piano master class on Wednesday. Those involved, showed courage and ambition as they were individually and publically coached on their technique.

Finally thank you to all parents who supported year 9 and 10 parents evenings.

Tash Young and Jack Golicki, are running an Easter raffle in aid of the sixth form charity prizes are hampers of Easter eggs, 25p a ticket or £1 a strip of 5. Please support them if you can.

The final preparations for the year book are going well, see the images below for a sneak preview.

GCSE + NEXT ROUND 16th April – 4th May.

The next round of GCSE+ starts straight after the Easter break for Year Eleven pupils. This time the focus will be predominately on English, Maths and Science, with pupils spending 20 minutes every morning working with specialist subject teachers.

Easter Revision

EXAMS

Changes to the marking of exam coursework/controlled assessment in accordance with JCQ regulations, will be found on the school website (Policies) from Easter.

News from PE

U15 County Rugby 7’s

On Tuesday we travelled to St Jo’s in Trent Vale for the county finals to take on the best 15 teams in the county. We were drawn in a tough pool with our first game against the home team who are a selective school who award places based on rugby ability. St Jo’s started with a bang scoring from the kick off and we were unable to recover losing by 4 tries to nil. The second game saw an even contest against Westwood from Leek. Errors allowed Westwood to take a 2 try lead before Charlie Martin scored a length of the field try, Alleyne’s had the chance to draw the game with the last play but knocked on with the line beconing. This left Alleynes the task of winning their remaining 2 pool games to go through to the next stage. We got a win on the board in the next game over a strong Walsall Academy side. Alleyne’s used their squad well and won a tense game against St John Fisher which was sparked by a length of the field try saving chase by Charlie Cope, which Alleyne’s then counter attacked to score through captain Ben Simon. This result saw us qualify for the bowl semi-finals and were srawn against Blysthe Bridge. This proved to be a miss match as Alleyne’s racked up a huge score, which allowed us to rest players for the final. The final saw a convincing win over a tired Graham Balfour side with the final score 48-0.

All the 12 man squad contributed to a great day of Rugby. Captain Ben Simon led the team well with 2 tries and a number of drop goal conversions. Joel Grout was at his creative best and was back to full fitness finishing 2 tries and kicking 8 goals. Up from Lewis Brown and Ed Fradley set a great platform, Gregor Hayes decided to show us he could play every position on the field and kicking 2 conversions., Will Bowyer refused to come off until he had scored a try which he did despite having to remove his lucky earing. Louie Thornton put in the biggest hits of the day and got himself on the scoresheet in the final. George Hill showed great Athleticism out wide to score 3 tries, Max Hunt scored 3 well taken tries in front of his uncle and then managed to make a supporter cry with a miss judged kick. Charlie Cope made good contributions in attack and defence when on the field. Charlie Martin probably had the performance of the day scoring 9 tries with some blistering pace and Jenson Bosworth looked after the Jewellery safely after forgetting his gum shield.

GCSE PE

Reminder all GCSE practical videos and assessments need submitting before Easter. Students taking handball on Tuesday have been sent coaching videos on Insight which we advise them to watch. GCSE revision guides are still available to buy at Thomas Alleyne’s online shop.

Cheerleading

Cheerleading club is still going strong with the girls learning even harder skills than before, they’re not perfect, yet, but we are certainly getting there. The club isn’t on next week but will return after Easter if anyone wants to join us.

The tournament started with two narrow defeats to Denstone A & Abbotsholme, there were some notable strong performances from Lucy Carr who retired from both innings not out. Next up were Painsley, TAHS shared the bowling out between 7 players and

wickets fell quite regularly, with a tight field. Lottie, Lucy & Katie were dominant with the bat to record the first win by 11 runs. Eve, Sam, & Katie were disciplined with their bowling taking wickets and conceding very few extras. Amelia and Freya both showing good agility in the field.

Last up were Newcastle – Under- Lyme School who batted first, again all fielders bar bar wicket keeper Holly bowled an offer & 7 wickets were taken by the 7th. Many of the shots played by Newcastle went straight to Lottie who took 2 catches and a run -out.

Katie & Lucy soon met the total with the bat for a second victory by 6 wickets.

The competition is a promising start to the season, anybody who is interested please attend girls cricket practice after school on a Friday.

Science News

Following on from last week’s British Science Week activities, we have continued to celebrate all aspects of Science with a Geoscience talk to our Year 9 students given by Mrs Gouldsmith. The students had the opportunity to look at a display of rocks, minerals and fossils and heard accounts of how Earth’s formation and ancient climate can be gleaned from the evidence in the rocks. The 4.6 billion year old piece of meteorite was of particular interest to students; when they considered that it is the oldest thing they will ever hold in their hand!

This week’s Science Students of the Week selected by Mrs Faizey are:

Year 9

Molly Bettson and Matthew Jackson for excellent effort at all times

Year 10

Jenna Timmis for scoring above target grade in the last two chemistry assessments

Jude Longley for putting the maximum effort into his work in chemistry

Year 11

James Lomas for scoring above target in a recent chemistry assessment

Oliver Stainsby for working very hard in all science lessons

Well done!

Piano Masterclass

Details of his work are available on the website link where you can see performances and links to his scholarship work with students he selects from all over the country. This was a fantastic opportunity for not only the 8 piano students I selected for him to listen to but for the audience of budding pianists and musicians who were lucky enough to hear his 90 minute masterclass. He stunned the audience with his performance of Khachaturian’s Piano Sonata in F given on our very own Ibach Grand Piano in the theatre and then went on to coach our selected piano pupils of: Robert Fuller, Natasha Painter, Bradley Rolph, Lily Bekker, Hannah Quirke, Rachel Clemett, Sarah Page and Lucy Vickers. His method of teaching challenged the pupils and promoted deep independent thinking. Resilience was needed to take the feedback on board but all pupils were brave and responded brilliantly. I would like to thank Richard for this opportunity and he has promised to return in the future to follow up the progress of the students.

Lilly Bekker and Bradley Rolph, two of our GCSE music students, wrote this report about their experience:

This week, Richard Meyrick, a concert pianist, visited our school to educate 8 amateur pianists, whilst entertaining a group of music students from our school. To begin the masterclass, he performed a five minute piece which impressed all of us. The advice he gave us was thorough and helpful and gave us an insight into a professional musician’s level of talent. We are very grateful for this opportunity and thank Mrs Todd for arranging it.

A Big Thanks

MANY THANKS FROM ELLIE ROOBOTTOM FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF HER BAKE SALE ON MONDAY. SHE RAISED £164 TOWARDS THE FUND THEY HAVE SET UP TO HELP SEND HER BROTHER,WILL ROOBOTTOM, TO SRI LANKA WITH THE BRITISH LIONS INDOOR CRICKET TEAM.

Pastoral students of the week:

Sam Barker

Chloe Cartwright

Tom Johnson

Isobel Watts

Connor Cockerham

Leon Bareham

Ellie Roobottom

Careers

Don’t forget to check out the new careers page on tahsroundup.wordpress.com

These assemblies have been planned and will be delivered by 4 year 12 students who visited Auschwitz earlier in the year. (Adam Burrows, Rachel Clemett, Lydia Grocott, Jess Poole)

Thought for the Week

Some of the worst selfies I’ve ever seen are at Auschwitz or Ground Zero. (Brad Paisley)

Auschwitz stands as a tragic reminder of the terrible potential man has for violence and inhumanity. (Billy Graham)

Dates for your diary

22/3/2018 Year 10 Parents Evening

29/3/2018 End of Term

16/4/2018 School Reopens

Headteacher blog:

Business leaders frequently cite teamwork, problem solving, and communication skills as qualities they look for in employees. Therefore as well as developing students subject knowledge, we also look to develop their ‘soft skills’. Last week, we took part in the Business and Enterprise Challenge led by the Business Studies department. This week, Mrs Lindsay built on this work developing students teamwork and public speaking skills by leading the BBC School Report Day with Year 9 form tutors. The performance of students was superb.

We have also been notified that a number of our students have been successful in the Rotary Creative Writing competition. Mrs Fisher organised these entries and as a result 5 students will be invited to attend the awards ceremony at the town hall.

I had the pleasure of attending the BTEC results day on Thursday. Many students who received these results, have achieved beyond their expectations. They now have their coursework to complete to ensure that the grade they have attained in their examination is also achieved in their coursework.

Finally well done to everyone who attended the French GCSE session on Saturday morning.

Message from GCSEpod for all TAHS parents

There are now approximately 10 weeks until the examination season begins for Year 11. This means that if your child is not following a well structured revision strategy, it is time to start.

GCSEPod provides over 6,000 3-5 minute bursts of visual learning ‘Pods’. The way in which GCSEPod maps content can help revision be much more manageable as your child can see their revision displayed in a logical way. Each Pod is exam board specific, so you too can be reassured your child is only learning what they need to learn.

At this time of year, we ask you to encourage and support your child to engage in revision in any way you can. Whether you’re staying at home this Easter or going on holiday, GCSEPod is your child’s go to revision resource to help reduce stress and pressure that inevitably accompanies this period in their lives.

Staying at Home this weekend and at Easter?

GCSEPod is available on desktop and mobile devices. If you’re not planning on any trips this Easter, why not challenge your child to watch 10 Pods a day, that’s approximately 40 minutes of revision! GCSEPod helps to make revision seem much more manageable with organised Exam Specific Playlists, which you can find in the My Courses area of your child’s account.

Planning an Easter Trip away?

One of the remarkable things about GCSEPod is the ability to download the content to your child’s mobile device so it’s like they are carrying text books in their pockets without the need for internet! If you’re planning any trips with long journeys this Easter, ensure to download the GCSEPod app from the App Store (Apple and Android are supported) and download the content straight to your child’s device. GCSEPod is the perfect resource to ensure your child isn’t missing out on their key revision time.

Your child has already been registered with GCSEPod and if they’ve not yet activated their account they will need to follow the instructions below. If your child has already activated but can’t remember their username and password, please ask them to contact a member of staff.

4) Enter your child’s name, date of birth and confirm the school name.

5) Create a username, password, and a password hint to help you remember the password.

For more ways you can help support your child using GCSEPod, please visit www.gcsepod.com/parentswhere you’ll find lots more information and resources.

If your child is in Years 9 – 10 you may want to encourage them to get in good habits early.

This week was an important step for our Year 12’s. Manchester Convention Centre was the location for the UCAS convention and we were lucky enough to be able to take the majority of our Year 12’s to speak to over 140 University providers. As we walked round and observed our young adults asking pertinent questions we, as usual, felt a sense of pride. This, for many, was the first step in looking at the future. It’s a big world outside of Thomas Alleyne’s and for them to be able to talk to so many providers in one place and to see the variety of courses on offer could be daunting. Chatting to them, however, we realised that this was exciting for them.

As well as the Manchester trip Year 12 were introduced to Unifrog. It is a one stop platform for Apprenticeships and Universities and has proved so worthwhile for our current Year 13 students. If your child has not come home and spoken to you about it then please ask them to show you. It is easy to use and allows all students to access all current Apprenticeships in the UK and view all university courses and providers, not only in the UK, but across other countries as well. All their form tutors can see what they have been looking at, so they can keep a supportive watch over them. It is also a portal to upload their personal statement to so that their form tutor can access it a provide feedback. We really do value Future Intentions at Thomas Alleyne’s and this is just two ways that we support our students.

On a completely different note, Year 13 have had their leavers photo taken today. Traditionally there is a formal photograph and then there is the ‘silly’ photo where they are able to wear silly hats amongst other props. We, as the Sixth Form Team, look forward to seeing the finished photographs.

BBC School Report Day.

Thanks to all Year 9 students for their contributions to the BBC School Report Day. This involved students working in their forms to create a news bulletin. These were very impressive. We are very grateful for the visitors who attended our press conferences as this greatly helped the students to get a real flavour of working in the media. Ellie Roobottom has written the following summary:

“On Thursday the 15th March all Year 9 students took part in the BBC School Report Day.

We had one day to produce a news bulletin with our form. This began finding news stories for our report then typing them up of computers and finally performing our report in front of the cameras.

In my form all the roles were split up. Some of us attended press conferences, some of us were researching stories and some of us were typing stories up for our reports.

My role was to help produce our report so I had to sort out what stories we were going to do and in what order. Overall I had a really fun day and would happily do it again.”

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BTEC Results Day

Over 100 students in school got the results from their January BTEC exams this week. Students in years 10-13 achieved results in Applied Science, Children’s Play, Learning & Development, Health & Social Care, ICT and Sport. A particular well done Shannon Davies in year 10, who scored the highest mark in the school on her Children’s Play, Learning & Development exam beating year 11 students who also took this paper. In all subjects our students did really well and this is a step closer to some excellent BTEC results again this summer.

French Intervention – Saturday!

Well done to everyone who attended the French intervention on Saturday 17th March.

News from PE

Year 9 Futsal County Final

Thomas Alleyne’s yr9 boys qualified for the Futsal School Games Level 3 County Final at Fenton Manor by being the best placed East Staffordshire School.

The finals saw us play the winners of the 9 other Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent districts. All games were close contests ending as 1-0 wins, 1-0 defeats or 1-1 draws. Goals were scored by Jed Brunt (2), Sam Cope, Callum Stockbridge and Tommy Mangon.

After 9 close games Alleyne’s finished i 3rd place.

A great effort by all.

Science News

This week in Science we have been celebrating British Science Week with a series of activities.

Students visited the department at lunchtime throughout the week.

On Tuesday Mr Melland looked into all forms of motion and the science behind rocket propulsion. Carbon dioxide powered film canisters, a model steam engine, soap boats and hydrogen rockets were all used in the demonstrations.

Soap boats revealed the force encountered due to water tension. Adding soap to the centre of the boat disrupts the arrangement of the water molecules, decreasing the surface tension behind the boat. The boat is pulled towards areas of high surface tension by the water in front of the boat; resulting in the boat moving quickly across the water tank.

When the gas was ignited in the model hydrogen rocket it moved a little faster than the soap boat as it was launched across the room!

On Wednesday Mr Crum created lots of noise with an impressive display of combustion and explosions. Balloons filled with a hydrogen/oxygen mixture produced the loudest explosion. An ethanol-oxygen fuelled ‘whoosh’ bottle proved to be impressive and the methane-oxygen fuelled rockets moved with incredible speed. The students made their own methane fuelled ‘Pringle Tube’ rockets. And the students particularly enjoyed ‘setting fire’ to Mr Crum’s hand!

On Thursday Mrs Swinson had a captivated audience for the rat dissection. The students were fascinated by the internal organs of the rat and were amazed at the length of the small intestine!

This week’s Animal Care Students of the Week selected by Mrs North are:

Ellie Matthews and Matthew Payne for excellent course work

This week’s Environmental Land Based Science Students of the Week also selected by Mrs North are:

Megan Miller and Charles Frogatt for attending after-school sessions for completion/improvement of course work

Well done!

Geography Revision

Please see the attached calendars of when Geography GCSE and A Level revision will take place in the coming months. A Level and GCSE Geographers will also recieve a revision guide before Easter to ensure they have a full set of revision notes. GCSE Geographers should also be aware that there are new resources on GCSEPod on the economic section of the exam. Sets of exam questions for both A Level and GCSE will be sent out via Insight and Edmodo. It is essential that students practice past questions as part of their revision.

TIMSS 2018

9U3 and 9H3 Maths groups will be completing the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study on Friday 23rd March. This study involves 50 countries and we are one of 360 schools in the country to be involved in this test and will involve the students completing a number of tests and questionnaires based on Maths and Science.

Year 9 Options

Thank you to all parents and Year 9 students for submitting your 8 preferred subjects for the options process. We have now begun the process of mapping individual choices against the school timetable. At this point, it is clear that we will be able to offer all students 4 of their 8 preferred subjects. We will notify all students of their KS4 subjects by 4th June.

Art News

Year 13 A level Exams

These 3 day exams start from 30th April for Art students and May 8th for Photographers. If you study both subjects please be ultra aware of your dates and prepare accordingly. As as soon as you start your exam, your prep work will stop.

Please use the art rooms during your non-contact study periods and ensure the minimum of 5 hours independent study is completed each week to work towards your estimated grades or above!

Year 11 Art GCSE

The final countdown! Art Exams start on Tues May 1st- only 2 weeks after the Easter Break. Please ensure you have all work completed and you are prepared for the 10 Hours element of your GCSE exam, this project is worth 40% of your overall grade. It has been great to see some students making lots of effort to develop their ideas, and use photography to support their investigations- keep it up Year 11!

Art Club after school is Wed, Thurs, and Fri til 5pm (check teachers available to supervise)

Year 10 Artists

It has been a pleasure to see our Year 10 Artists improving all the time in their studies. Please see photographs for a sample of what is going on in the Art department currently.

Mrs Robinson and Mrs Cornell class have been working on their colour and pattern abstract patterns based on Natural Forms.

Careers

Don’t forget to check out the new careers page on tahsroundup.wordpress.com

‘I hate the hand that comes out of a car and just drops litter in the street. I hate that! For some reason, it just fills me with fury! It’s just utter laziness, lack of interest in other people, lack of interest in the planet, in the hedgehog who might eat the plastic bag, it’s a lack of concern.’ Joanna Lumley

Dates for your diary

13/3/2018 Year 9 Parents Evening

22/3/2018 Year 10 Parents Evening

Headteacher blog:

This week, year 7 and 8 students from Oldfields, Windsor Park and Ryecroft Middle Schools joined us for our Business and Enterprise day. At the end of the day, they took the stage to promote the individual businesses they had developed during the day. Public speaking is always challenging, and I would like to congratulate all involved: the children spoke with passion and conviction. Thank you to Mrs Featherstone, our Head of Business Studies, for organising such a fantastic opportunity.

I am fortunate to be able to attend the Association of School Leaders’ National Conference this weekend along with a number of the senior team members from Thomas Alleyne’s. One of the keynote speeches focused on the challenges which social media presents us as parents and teachers.

Mrs Catterall has recently delivered an assembly to support students’ understanding of the importance of their online profile and how anything posted, or ‘liked’, or ‘retweeted’ will be visible to companies who look to employ them in the future. Before they post anything online, students should consider whether they would be comfortable if their parents and teachers were to see what they are posting. If the answer to this question is no – we urge them not to post.

When listening to Andy Burrows from NSPCC, he asked us to ask for parental support in protecting children online. He explained, “That means parents talking to their children about their online lives.” Please feel confident in taking an active role in your child’s online behaviour and supporting them in how they post and how they act online. No post is ever deleted.

Finally a couple of parents have asked whether GCSEpods streaming is compulsory. We are keen for students to develop strong habits of independent learning: some will have alternative techniques which they wish to use. GCSEpod, however is one of the many strategies that we recommend. Thank you to all parents who attended the revision evening with Tim Benton this week we hope you found it supportive.

As I have been moving around the school this week I have been filled with pride to see so many of our Year 12 and 13 students working independently. They are ensuring that they are in the best position to succeed by making the most if their time at school. I would like to encourage all students to ensure that they have a revision plan in place if they are in Year 13 and that all students are creating revision materials on a regular basis. Some of the students that I have taught in recent years have been successful in their A Levels due to the commitment to their studies. This is a positive way to move towards their exams rather than leave all revision until the last minute.

Next week we at taking all the Year 12 students to Manchester to the UCAS convention. This will give all students the opportunity to speak to over 100 University providers as well as organisations offering Advanced and Higher Level Apprenticeships.

All information on how the Year 12’s can register is on Insight, all students must have a pass either downloaded on to their phones or print the ticket out. We encourage all students to explore both of these pathways to ensure that they are fully informed in preparation for Year 13 and the UCAS application. I have provided a link for you to look at which explains all information needed to understand the function and the benefits of the schemes.

I have shown my Year 12 History group the wonders of Unifrog and given them a brief demonstration as to the benefits of this programme. When we brief the students on this we will also invite parents in to the school to give you a demonstration to show you how wonderful it is. It is a one stop shop to students who are interested in Universities or Apprenticeships.

Year 10 Future Intentions Day

Year 10 experienced their first Future Intentions day on Monday. Despite the remnants of the previous weeks weather, speakers from the business community along with the Armed Forces and a big yellow bus all gathered at school where students took part in activities designed to develop their skills when looking at and deciding on future career paths. Activities included team-building, engaging with employers and further education providers as well as challenges on the apprenticeship bus. The day finished with past students sharing their journeys from GCSE to apprenticeships and degrees.

School Council

The school council are busy this term working on ways we can improve our school. The school council meeting on the 26th February saw students going to Uttoxeter town hall to meet Town Mayor Alison Trenery and Borough Councilllor Sue Mcgarry. Students learnt about local democracy and held their meeting in the council rooms where they were able to discuss issues that concerned the town regarding young people. They discussed the need for shops and market stalls for young people, the need for a shelter or space for young people to meet in the town centre, issues of poor behaviour by young people and policing, school and service buses and a range of holiday activities for teenagers. School councillors have also been busy preparing for assembly next week which they are delivering on the theme of picking up litter.

Kidzania National Enterprise Challenge!

On Thursday 150 year 7 and 8 students from Windsor Park, Oldfields and Ryecroft came to Thomas Alleynes to participate in the Ryman National Enterprise Challenge. The four facilatators from the organisation were great fun and the students worked on developing a new concept for Kidzania in London. All students worked exceptionally hard and all of their ideas were fantastic, with ten teams being selected to present their ideas at the end of the day.

The presentations put together by the students were of a high standard and it was tough for the judges to choose a winning team.

The winning team had two students from each middle school and they had put together an idea to collaborate with Apple! This team will attend a National final in June and we will be working with them to develop their idea in preparation for this event. Watch this space for photos of the challenge next week!

Thank you to all our sixthform and year ten volunteers who helped run the day and to the staff from the middle schools for bringing them along! It really was an enjoyable day!

News from PE

Versatility Netball Champions

Thomas Alleyne’s participated in Miss Jones’ favourite netball tournament of the year at Deferrers on Tuesday. The versatility tournament involves students from multiple year groups making up the team positions for an interesting tactical battle. Tilly Edwards, Jaz Sutton, Ellie Allcock, Lottie Cooper, Eve Bednall and Freya and Amelia Hadgett were selected for this battle.

First up saw Paget and Robert Sutton which were games won by convincing score lines 15-2 and 13-2 allowing all girls to play different court positions. The remaining four fixtures saw Jaz and Tilly putting in some gigantic performances in the D, rotating around the roles GD, GA & GS. Eve was a constant as centre where she controlled the game with a range of passes and composure with the ball. The goals rained in with wins against John Port 12-5, Deferrers B 12-2, John Taylor 13-0 with Ellie, Lottie, Jaz and Tilly gaining good positions to shoot. The toughest game was the last round robin match against Deferrers A the Hadgett twins put in fantastic defensive performances winning the ball from Deferrers centre pass and in the Goal third. The game was never in doubt as the team played with the same confidence seen in the previous fixtures and soon built a gap in the score and then continued to score off our own centre pass to amass a 12-8 victory.

It was a fitting tribute to Jemima Millican who finished her TAHS umpiring career with a winners medal along with the rest of the girls.

Cheerleading

Another really successful week at cheerleading practice on Wednesday with over 30 pupils attending. We learnt a difficult and scary new skill, called prep and cradle but everyone was really hardworking and most of all safe! Well Done everyone.

Tim Benton Addresses Pupil & Parents

On Wednesday year 11 and a number of parents were fortunate enough to listen to Tim Benton. He was very well received as he gave the parents and pupils advice on how to be successful in the next few months. Tim appreciated the attitude of many of our pupils as they engaged with him. Please find attached a summary of his key points and ideas.

Up Coming Parents Evenings

YEAR 9 PARENTS EVENING – Tuesday 13th March, from 4.00pm.

This Tuesday we look forward to welcoming Year 9 parents to our consultation evening. Please ensure that you son / daughter has made appointments with their teachers through the Insight booking system. If you have any difficulties please contact their Head of House.

YEAR 10 PARENTS EVENING – Thursday 22nd March, from 4.00pm.

Bookings are now being made for Year 10 Parents evening. Please make bookings through Insight, if you have any concerns please contact your child’s Head of House.

Your Staffordshire Card

We have received the following information regarding Your Staffordshire Cards:….

From the 1st April 2018 there will be a change in the bus fare charges for holders of Your Staffordshire Card bus passes, which some pupils use to travel to and from school on local bus services at a set lower fare.

From the 1st April 2018 the fare for the under 16 Your Staffordshire Card holders is increasing to £1.30 in line with the fare for the 16 to 20 card holders.

Please could you advertise this increase in bus fares on your school web sites etc. Where possible there have already been e-mails sent to card holder applicants and the bus companies have been informed. Further information and details of how to obtain or renew a card can be found on the web-site yourstaffordshirecard.info

Please direct any queries from card holders and parents to the web site not to school transport.

Careers

Don’t forget to check out the new careers page on tahsroundup.wordpress.com

Links

Please note that will not be an assembly on Thursday 8th due to the theatre needing to be set up for a transition event taking place.

Assemblies w/b 5th MarchTheme: the power of words (written and spoken)

These assemblies will be led by Mrs Harris

Thought for the Week

“Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.””Be careful with your words. Once they are said, they can be only forgiven, not forgotten.”

Dates for your diary

7/3/2018 Tim Benton Motivational Speaker

7/3/2018 Ski Trip Parents Meeting 2

13/3/2018 Year 9 Parents Evening

22/3/2018 Year 10 Parents Evening

Headteacher blog:

Having had 2 days when we had unforeseen closure we are impressed by the fact that many students have chosen to work independently.

It is always difficult to gauge how engaged students are with their independent work, in fact the only real measure we have are the numbers of GCSE podcasts they stream.

We are therefore reassured that GCSEpod have notified us that Thomas Alleyne’s students have been working very hard and that over the last few days have streamed more pods than any subscribing school in the country. For this reason we have been moved into the Grand Finals.

We have also been impressed that a number of students have popped into school during the 2 days to collect work which they wanted to continue with at home.

We look forward to seeing everyone back on Monday and hope that students will use some time at the weekend to access the materials which have been sent to them by their teachers via insight. We are conscious of compensating for valuable missed time.

GCSEpod usage over the school closure period:

Year 10 Future Intentions Day 2018:

This week sees the start of National Careers week and National Apprenticeship week and here at Thomas Alleyne’s we are engaging our year 10’s in a Future Intentions day on Monday as part of our CEIAG provision. The day will see our students tackling team-building challenges, attending employability skills workshops and catching up with ex-pupils in their journeys into the world of work. In addition, all students at our school will have the opportunity at break time to visit a purpose built roadshow bus where they can access information and seek guidance on all aspects of apprenticeships.

For more information about the activities our year 10 students will be undertaking please click here:.

There are also a number of careers events running over the next few weeks, which may be of interest to our students. Keele and Cambridge universities are holding events for students wishing to experience life at a university in a short residential plus sessions in History, Economics and Medicine. There are also events at local colleges including taster sessions at Derby and an Apprenticeship Information evening. Please see the links in the careers section for details.

Respect Programme

The themes for this half-term now moves onto more thought-provoking topics from PSHE.

Year 9 will be studying Diversity, looking into:

What is Diversity?The History of Diversity in the UKHow Different Are WeHow has Diversity Shaped Britain?

Year 10 will be studying Teenage Pregnancy, looking into:Social Issue of Teenage PregnancyStudent PerceptionsExploring Social IssuesMythsYear 11 will be studying Alcohol, looking into:Short and Long-Term ConsequencesLinks Between Alcohol and Mental HealthBinge DrinkingIf you have any thoughts or questions about these themes, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s form tutor or respective Head of House.

Year 11 Photographs

Anyone that has made a purchase for an individual student photograph should receive their order over the next few weeks. Please be patient as the orders do arrive into school sporadically, but it will be passed onto your child as soon as it is received. If you do not receive your order, or an update on it’s status, please contact the school directly.

We have also received sample order forms for the Year 11 Group Photograph that also took place before half-term. These are available to collect from Reception or from your child’s form tutor, and again we have a deadline of Friday 9th March to have orders submitted to the school to avoid postage and packaging charges (£4). There are many fantastic products available from Tempest on these order forms and also online. If you wish to ask any questions about this, please do not hesitate to contact Mr Hawthorne (Head of Torrance House).

On Wednesday 14th March we are taking all the Year 12 students to Manchester to the UCAS convention. They will have access to over 170 providers, universities and apprenticeships. It is such a great opportunity and I hope that they all take advantage of it. We will be leaving school at 9.00am and returning by 4.00pm. Last year we had amazing feedback and we expect this to just as good.

We have also had letters from the Year 12 students who are applying to become Senior Prefects. All letters have been read and we are putting together a schedule and will be inviting each candidate to come for an interview with a member of the Sixth Form Team and members of the current Senior Prefect Team. This may be their first interview so we do encourage each candidate to think about questions they may want to ask us as well as answers to questions about being a Senior Prefect.

Year 9 Options and Parents Evening

Just a reminder that the year 9 options process will close on Wednesday 7th March at 9am. Thank you to all of those students who have already completed this process and if students are still undecided about what options to take then please speak to subject staff or form tutors for guidance. Can we also remind parents and carers that the year 9 Parents Evening has been rescheduled to Tuesday 13th March starting at 4.00pm. There is no need to re-book appointments as the original ones are still valid. We look forward to seeing as many parents and carers as possible.

Catch-up Work

Please can students make sure that they check insight as staff will have set catch up work due to the fact that the poor weather has meant that the school has been closed. In addition all students in Years 9 to 11 have been set a task in which they are asked to access GCSE Pods covering the areas which they would have been taught on Thursday and Friday.

Year 12 – Business Live Trip

Last week 19 Business Students visited Disneyland Paris to attend the Business Live Conference where we enjoyed presentations from British Airways, Pret a Manger and Disney! The presentations were informative and allowed students to apply some of the theory they have learnt so far to real business contexts!

As well as the conference we spent some time in the theme park! Students also enjoyed dinner at the Buffalo Bill Wild West show and even got themselves involved!

The students were all a credit to the school and even at temperatures of less than -7 degrees we managed to have a good time!

Thank you to Mr Parkes and Mr Washbourne for supporting the trip!

Tim Benton Motivational Speaker

NEW DATE : Wednesday 7th March 6.00pm.

We are pleased to announce that Tim has rearranged his visit for Wednesday 7th March. He will be speaking to year 11 pupils on Wednesday afternoon and then to parents at 6.00pm. Please com along to find out how you are able to support your son or daughter through their GCSE exams in the coming months.

GCSE+

The first round of GCSE+ finished this week. All of year 11 benefitted from 20 minutes extra revision over the last 3 weeks. Thank you to all staff who taught the sessions. The next round will start after Easter.

Interventions

News from PE

GCSE PE

Revision Trip

On Wed 7th March we are taking 26 students to a PE exam revision day in Coventry. Check with Miss Jones that you have secured a place.

Revision Guides

At students request we have ordered 2 types of GCSE PE revision guides both available at half price £2.50 each. See attached letter. They can be paid by Thomas Alleyne’s Online shop and then collected from the PE department.

GCSE Practical Assessments

GCSE practical exams began this week. Due to the weather some activities will have to be arranged. If you are doing an activity outside school such as Horse riding, Golf, Boxing, Cycling, Gymnastics deadline for video evidence is Monday 12th March. Please make sure you follow criteria and ensure video includes you stating your name and candidate number. Any questions ask Mr Barrow. See attached activity lists.

Science News

This week’s Animal Care Students of the Week selected by Mr Gilson are:

Kieran Wild and Joe Porritt for all round commitment to the course.

This week’s Environmental Land Based Science Students of the Week also selected by Mr Gilson are:

Olivia Bennett and Chrystal Malelu for producing very good coursework above their target grade.

Well done

Maths Feast

On Wednesday this week, Mrs Lyon and myself took 8 year 10 students to participate in the maths feast at DeFerrers High school. There were lots of challenges to complete in teams of 4. Both teams put in a fabulous performance and did the school proud. Many thanks to Mrs Lyon for taking us there and back safely.Once again it was a pleasure to take our students out, we thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon.Mrs Payne

School Report Day

School Report Day is on Thursday 15th March. This is an opportunity for all Year 9 students to take part in National Broadcasting event run by the BBC. In school we will be running mock-press conferences and challenging each form to prepare their own news bulletin to be recorded. Please return your consent slips. These were sent home via form tutors but have also been sent out to all year 9 parents via Insight.

Here are a few pictures from last year…

Your Staffordshire Card

We have received the following information regarding Your Staffordshire Cards:….

From the 1st April 2018 there will be a change in the bus fare charges for holders of Your Staffordshire Card bus passes, which some pupils use to travel to and from school on local bus services at a set lower fare.

From the 1st April 2018 the fare for the under 16 Your Staffordshire Card holders is increasing to £1.30 in line with the fare for the 16 to 20 card holders.

Please could you advertise this increase in bus fares on your school web sites etc. Where possible there have already been e-mails sent to card holder applicants and the bus companies have been informed. Further information and details of how to obtain or renew a card can be found on the web-site yourstaffordshirecard.info

Please direct any queries from card holders and parents to the web site not to school transport.

Careers

Don’t forget to check out the new careers page on tahsroundup.wordpress.com